Every year – on or around Earth Day – I get a call from my friend Ryan. Ryan is a successful professional, a few years younger than I am. Many years ago, Ryan and I attended an Earth Day concert in our hometown of Macon, Georgia. The concert was down by the Ocmulgee River, and a few hundred people were there. When we arrived, a great-sounding band was on the stage. By the time we left, a completely different – BAD sounding – band was on the stage. The event sparked this years-long game of phone tag in which we will call and recount our memories of the bad-sounding band and the hilarity that ensued.
I don’t think the point of Earth Day is to revel in a bad performance by some unknown band down by the Ocmulgee River from years ago. Still, my silly memory with Ryan is a fun connection that reminds me – we have been celebrating and/or remembering Earth Day for a looooong time. It is also a much-welcome counterweight to a lot of the heavy news we often get about the current state of our changing climate.
I do realize that some might say, “Oh, I guess it’s Earth Day again. . . Ugh!” And there are still others – who claim to be Christian – who will say, “Why do I need to care for the earth when Jesus is going to come back before we completely destroy the world?” I’m not nearly as fatalistic as all of that, and the whole “Jesus is going to come back, so I don’t have to care” argument is theologically wrong. Jesus cares for the world as it is right now, and so should we. I still have hope for the earth, though I know we have work to do.
For our part at Bedford Presbyterian Church, in recent years, we have started to think more and more about being good stewards of the earth that God has given to us. Our Green Team is hard at work, meeting with contractors, sifting through schematics, reading about renewable energy, and preparing us to become an even more energy-efficient church than we already are.
This week, you will be hearing about some of the Green Team’s excellent work and some of the steps we are taking. Even though it will save resources and money in the future, becoming more energy efficient is not cheap. Once the Green Team’s work reaches a certain level, we will approach the congregation and some of our other partners with a plan for upgrades and spending to replace HVAC systems and look toward installing solar panels on our property. In the meantime, this week, we will have a great Green Team Update flyer (click HERE) with information on our “820 Go Green Fund.” All of this is to prepare us for the work that lies ahead.
As some folks like to say, we are preparing to make Earth Day every day and, as we care for God’s creation, I hope that our good stewardship will bear fruit.
Grace and Peace,
John
Prepare for Worship
This Week: “Living Under a Rock” (Holy Hospitality and Holy Heartburn)
- Read Psalm 116
- Read Luke 24:13-35
- Read or sing Hymn # 231 – “Christ Has Risen While Earth Slumbers”